Purple coconut eggplant price drops to record low, farmers leave it all over the fields

Thanks to the active conversion of crop structure, increasing land turnover ratio, increasing productivity per unit area, purple coconut eggplant and winter cucumber in Xuan Hoa commune have brought high economic efficiency. This is also considered one of the main crops of the commune.

Purple coconut eggplant is considered the main crop of farmers in Xuan Hoa commune. Photo: Nguyen Quyen

Up to now, in the commune, nearly 30 hectares of purple coconut eggplant are entering the harvest period, each hectare can yield 30 to 40 tons of fruit. With a good harvest, the people here are very excited because compared to the beginning of the season, the price of purple coconut eggplant is quite high, ranging from 8,000 - 10,000 VND/kg, bringing a large source of income for the people. However, up to now, the price of purple coconut eggplant is falling sharply, reaching a peak of only 700 VND/kg, making the people here very worried.

People are worried because traders are very cautious and often choose fruits right in the field. Photo: Nguyen Quyen

Mr. Nguyen Van Binh, a farmer in Xuan Hoa commune, said: “Realizing that purple eggplants yield high yields, my family invested in planting more than 2 sao of the plant. The plants bore fruit, but before we could be happy, the price dropped, making not only my family but also many other households not know how to cope. With the price of 700 VND/kg, people did not dare to harvest, everyone wanted to wait for a higher price to sell. However, seeing the old eggplants fall and rot all over the garden was heartbreaking.”

Falling coffee prices have made people afraid to harvest, leaving many coffee fields abandoned to rot. Photo: Nguyen Quyen

It is known that in this season last year, purple coconut eggplant brought high income to many households in Xuan Hoa commune. Seeing that, many households in Nam Anh and Nam Linh communes in the district also invested in growing this plant. However, the price of purple coconut eggplant has dropped very quickly, making farmers uneasy and worried. On average, for one sao of purple coconut eggplant, people have to spend about 2 million VND on seeds and fertilizers, plus nearly 4 months of care to harvest.

If in the previous crop, coconut eggplant brought in an income of 8,000 to 10,000 VND/kg, now the price of eggplant is less than 1/10. Photo: Nguyen Quyen

Mr. Hoang Van Chat (residing in Nam Anh commune) sadly shared: “People have had to spend a lot of money on fertilizers, pesticides and labor for this crop with the hope of a bumper crop of fruits and prices. Every day, they harvest several quintals of purple coconut eggplants, but the chorus of falling prices continues. Meanwhile, traders only buy the big, beautiful, long-stemmed fruits in the fields, causing many households to fall into a state of backlog. To recover some capital, many households have had to pick purple coconut eggplants and bring them to small markets in the area and neighboring communes to sell retail, but at a price of 1,000 VND/kg, it is still not much better.”

This year, the entire Xuan Hoa commune planted 30 hectares of eggplant, but the output for this fruit is facing difficulties. Photo: Nguyen Quyen

Mr. Ho Manh Hung - Chairman of the People's Committee of Xuan Hoa Commune, Nam Dan District said: "This year, the whole commune has nearly 30 hectares of purple coconut eggplant. When the eggplant is ready to be harvested, the price is only 700 VND/kg, the luckiest price is 1,000 - 1,500 VND/kg, causing people to suffer heavy losses. This is also considered the lowest price ever."